


Valentine

by bansheequeen (queenbanshee), xtremeroswellian



Series: The High School Series [11]
Category: Smallville
Genre: Chloe is also a romantic at heart, F/M, Flirting, Harry Potter References, Innocent bed sharing, Surprises, Teasing, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:36:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23986180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: Oliver's disappointed that he can't take Chloe to the school's Valentine's Day dance. Chloe makes plans of her own.
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Chloe Sullivan
Series: The High School Series [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1728691
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

  


When he didn’t get a hold of her using her cell number, and when he drove by her house and saw no lights were on, he figured she was probably at school, working on the Torch. And when he walked down the hall and was greeted by the sight of a light coming from the Torch office, he knew he’d been right. Smiling, he made his way down the corridor, footsteps echoing in the otherwise quiet building.

Chloe stilled completely when she heard footsteps, her eyes widening a little and she carefully made her way over to the door, poking her head out slowly then taking a deep breath and relaxing when she saw him. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

He arched his eyebrows. “Of course not.” 

“Good.” She reached for his hand and pulled him into the office quickly. “What are you doing here?”

“I missed you,” he told her, arching his eyebrows, following her into the office.

Chloe smiled at him and leaned in, kissing him softly. “I had to put the paper to bed, I’m almost done, though.”

He kissed her back without hesitation, then grinned. “Are you going to put me to bed next?” he teased.

“Somehow, I don’t think the Luthors would appreciate finding me in your room,” she said, squinting at him. “I do have a story to share with you, though,” she told him secretly, arching her eyebrows and grinning.

“Touche,” he said, nodding and then arching his eyebrow again. “What story?” 

“You know Mary Ann? Her mom’s name is Rebecca, I think, she works at the mansion?” Chloe asked, leaning back against her desk and watching him.

He cocked his head to the side. “Yeah. What about her?” 

“Well, apparently she’s telling everyone who wants to hear that she has proof that the mansion is haunted,” Chloe told him, cocking her head. “Care to comment?”

“Not until I hear more. What proof does she have?” he asked curiously, moving over to sit on her desk.

“Well, apparently she was with her mom at the mansion before the Luthors came back, she was helping her with the downstairs, I don’t know specifically where since I was overhearing this whole thing, and she heard weird noises. She went to investigate it down the hall and she _swears_ she saw a red headed girl in white, and when she saw Mary Ann, she screamed loudly and disappeared.” Chloe held his gaze. “Have you seen anything weird while you were there?”

He pursed his lips, shaking his head. “Not that I can think of. I mean, except those weird sounds we heard in the basement.” 

“That’s what I was thinking of too,” she said, cocking her head. “Any idea when the Luthors will be out of town again so we can explore?”

“Probably not until the next federal holiday,” he admitted, sighing a little and looking down.

“Hopefully there will be a fundraiser or something before then,” she told Oliver. “Anyway, she probably just wants attention, but I might come talk to her about it. I’m also thinking of asking Lex.”

He smirked faintly at that. “Yeah. Good luck with _that_ ,” he said wryly.

“He has no idea I know about the Torch, he doesn’t hate me yet,” Chloe reminded him.

“Doesn’t mean he’s going to be helpful, either,” he said with a shrug.

“No, it doesn’t,” she agreed, shrugging back. “And while I believe in a lot of things, ghosts seem a little far fetched.”

“You don’t think it’s Moaning Myrtle?” he asked, widening his eyes and smirking.

“You let me know if you feel like you have someone watching you bathe,” she said, smirking right back at him. 

“Feel like or want someone to?” he teased.

Chloe squinted at that. “Is the your answer positive to either one of those?”

“Maybe to the latter. You know, if you were offering...” He flashed her a grin.

“I don’t know,” she said, pushing herself off the desk. “I don’t know how much fun that’d be. Watching, I mean.”

He cocked his head to the side. “You’re always welcome to join me. Strictly for environmental purposes, of course. Conserving water and everything.” 

Chloe laughed, her face getting warm despite herself. The idea of him seeing her naked was way too embarrassing. “Of course.” 

He couldn’t help but smile when she blushed and he moved over to her, wrapping his arms around her and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “So how much do you have left to do on the paper tonight? Need any help?” 

She hugged him back and shook her head. “I’m pretty much done, I just need to drop it off at the printer when I leave,” she told him, looking up at him, her eyes bright.

“Want some company?” he asked hopefully, not ready to go back to the mansion yet.

“Yeah,” she told him quietly. “We don’t have to leave now, they close at four and won’t get this printed until tomorrow morning anyway, so it doesn’t matter when I drop it off as long as it’s tonight.”

He studied her. “Does that mean we have the whole _school_ to ourselves?” A grin began to form on his face once more.

“It does.” She grinned at the look on his face. “Not as exciting as a whole mansion but...”

He smirked. “That depends on how you define exciting.” 

“You seem to have a good idea of what you want this definition to be,” she said, squinting at him.

“You know I’m a bit of a trouble-maker, right?” 

“I don’t think a bit quite covers it.” She straightened, a mischievous look on her face. “So, what trouble are we making?”

“I thought we could cause some trouble for Rod Pierce and a couple of those douchewads.” He smirked.

“Oh.” She tried not to sound disappointed, making out in the pool was probably not very practical, anyway. “Like what?”

He cocked his head to the side, studying her. “What do _you_ have in mind?” 

“I stay by myself at school all the time, you know?” She said, shrugging. There was no way she’d suggest that to him, they hadn’t done much yet and he had way more experience than she did. “It’s not as exciting for me, so you can pick.”

“Well, we don’t have to stay here. We can just go walk around under the stars,” he suggested, arching his eyebrows.

“Under the stars?” She grinned, teasing. “Is that one of those romantic things you told me about?”

“Yeah.” He grinned back. “Something like that.” 

“Okay,” she said, squinting at him. “Give me thirty seconds to save this and shut down.”

“I’m counting.” His voice was teasing, and he leaned back against the wall by the door.

“Go ahead.” She grinned, taking a deep breath and focusing as she saved the layout on a floppy disk, then tested it quickly to make sure it was there before shutting down the computer. “Did I lie?” She asked as she turned to face him again.

“No, you were right at thirty seconds,” he joked, glancing down at his wrist where no watch was.

“Oh, good.” She threw everything in her purse then pulled it over her head as she picked up her key. “Let’s go, then.”

He smiled, holding his hand out to her and leading her out of the office.

“So where are we going, exactly?” She asked, linking her fingers through his and smiling up at him after she had locked the door to the Torch.

“Nowhere specific,” he said with a slight shrug. “It’s a nice night. Cold, but not windy. Figured we could just walk.” 

“Okay.” She smiled softly as they made their way downstairs. “Glad you came by.”

“Yeah?” He glanced at her sideways.

“Yeah,” she said sincerely and shrugged. “I’d just go home and text you otherwise.”

He smiled faintly, squeezing her hand. “Got it.” 

She squeezed his hand back and took a deep breath once they got outside. It was a nice night, chilly but not too cold and no wind was definitely a plus.

“So...there’s something we should probably talk about,” he said hesitantly as they walked through the parking lot.

Her stomach tightened instantly at his tone and she frowned as she turned to look at him. “What?”

“No, no, it’s nothing bad,” he said quickly, picking up on her tone. 

“Oh,” she said quietly, taking a deep breath and straightening a little. “Okay, but what is it?”

“There’s...a dance coming up. A Valentine’s Day thing.” He chewed the inside of his cheek.

“Oh, right.” She blinked a couple of times then frowned a little, shaking her head in confusion. “But we can’t go.”

“Right,” he said immediately. “I mean, it would be impossible.” 

“Everyone would know,” she muttered, her face falling a little as she realized she finally had someone who really wanted to go to a dance with her and she couldn’t go with him.

“Yeah. And that would be bad.” He didn’t sound convinced.

Chloe looked down and nodded a little, squeezing his hand. 

Oliver sighed, pursing his lips as he fell silent.

She tugged on his hand as she stopped walking and stepped in front of him. “I wanna go,” she whispered. “I’ve never been to one of those with someone who really wanted to go with me. But...”

“But if Lionel finds out, we’re sunk,” he finished, nodding as he stopped, gazing at her. “I know, Chloe.” 

Chewing on her bottom lip, she nodded a little. “It’s just a day,” she said quietly, trying to convince herself as well as he. “We’ll go to a dance, eventually. After you graduate.”

He tried to smile at that, but didn’t quite manage it. “Does it ever make you wish...”

“What?” She asked quietly, reaching for his other hand too as she shifted closer.

He looked away. “I don’t know, that I was someone else. Someone with fewer complications.” 

“No,” she said instantly, sincerely as she squeezed his hands in her. “No, you wouldn’t be you.”

Oliver drew in a breath and looked back at her, sadness etched into his features. “No, but you wouldn’t have to hide this part of your life, either. And your dad wouldn’t have gotten into trouble.”

“I feel bad about dad,” she admitted then shrugged a little. “But I don’t mind hiding, it beats the alternative,” she said quietly, trying for a smile.

He swallowed hard, nodding even as his chest tightened. “Yeah.” 

Chloe took a deep breath then stepped closer and pressed her lips to his, her own chest tight. She wished she knew how to go to the dance and keep this a secret but the dance was only one night.

He kissed her back, lifting a hand to her cheek and then leaning his forehead against hers. Then he sighed softly. “Come on,” he murmured. “Let’s keep walking.” He didn’t want to go back to the mansion and deal with Lex and Lionel.

She nodded a little then let go of one of his hands and stepped to his side again. “Doesn’t mean we can’t hang out,” she said quietly, glancing at him. “The whole town will be deserted with everyone at the dance.”

He smiled faintly. “Good point,” he agreed, nodding and squeezing her hand.

Chloe smiled softly at that and nodded, holding her head up as she tried to convince herself that that was almost as good.


	2. Chapter 2

She felt really bad for what she was about to do, but she had to do it. It was Valentine’s Day and she knew that he had texted to meet with him in the janitor’s closet so they could plan something. She hadn’t been able to see him much in the last couple of days, so she knew telling him what she was about to was going to be hard on him.

With a deep breath, she pulled the closet door open and ducked inside, not surprised when she saw he was already in there. “Hey.”

“Hey.” He smiled brightly, moving toward her and wrapping his arms around her. He dropped a kiss to her lips. “What’s up?” 

She kissed him back then managed a nervous smile before shrugging a little. “What did you wanna talk about?”

“Well...” He let his hands rest on her shoulders. “I thought we should talk about tonight. Was there anything specific you wanted to do?” 

Chloe took a deep breath and looked down. “About that,” she muttered, then looked back at him.

He felt his stomach tighten. “Uh oh.” 

“I told my dad I wasn’t going to the dance,” she said quietly, not really able to look at him. “He thought I was upset, he planned this whole thing tonight, and I couldn’t tell him no.”

Oliver’s face fell at that. “Oh.” He looked down for a moment. “Well, that was really nice of him.” 

“I’m really sorry, Ollie. I think he is driving us to Metropolis because he asked me to be home right after school,” she said, looking down. She didn’t want to see that look on his face.

“It’s okay,” he said, pursing his lips. It wasn’t, really, but it wasn’t her fault, and he couldn’t exactly blame her dad, either. Not like the guy even knew they were dating. “I’ll just read or something and we can do something tomorrow or whatever.” 

“No, listen.” She took a deep breath and looked up at him. “I know you were scheduled to work at the kitchen tomorrow. Go up today and we will do something tomorrow night instead?” She held his gaze and shook her head. “I don’t want you to be on your own.”

He managed a faint smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. 

“Please?” She asked quietly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He drew in a breath, wrapping his arms around her waist and finally nodding. “All right, all right. I’ll go. For you.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Chloe closed her eyes and smiled, relieved then took a deep breath and looked up at him. “We’ll make it special, I promise.”

He nodded, resting his head against hers for a moment. He sighed when the bell rang. “So I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then?” 

“Yeah,” she whispered, pressing her lips to his and hugging him tightly for a moment before pulling back. “We’ll make our own Valentine’s day,” she whispered.

“Sounds good,” he said quietly, kissing her once more before stepping back so she could leave first. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

“I’ll see you,” she whispered, smiling a little at him before slipping out of the closet quickly. She took a deep breath and nodded to herself. At least that was done.

* * * 

Oliver was bordering on depressed by the time he made it to the soup kitchen that night. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy going and helping out. It was that it was Valentine’s Day and he’d been looking forward to spending it with Chloe. Sighing as he climbed out of his car, he made his way toward the building, hands tucked in his pockets. He’d lost his gloves in the last couple of days, and he could have bought another pair, but stuffing them in his pockets was easier. 

He pulled open the door, nodding at a couple of the volunteers and noting that they had even dressed up more than usual. They probably had plans after their shifts. 

“Hey Ollie,” Monica, one of the older cooks called. “Happy Valentine’s Day!”

He grimaced, but nodded. “You too,” he called back.

“Glad you could make it, we’re a little understaffed,” she said as she approached him, drying her hands on an apron she was wearing.

Oliver pursed his lips. “Guess a lot of people had plans for the holiday.” 

“Guess so, but we could sure use your help,” she told him with a smile. “We wanted to bake some heart-shaped cupcakes, could you go into the back room and grab us some of the red velvet mix?”

He drew in a breath, nodding a little. “Yeah, no problem. Be right back,” he told her, heading for the door to the back room.

The room was completely dark and silent when he walked in, but the second he flipped on the lights, music started to play and colored lights came on instead of the usual, white ones. Chloe was standing in the middle of the room in a pale green dress, her hair was up with a few loose curls and she was holding her hands together nervously as she smiled at him.

He blinked a couple of times as he froze in the doorway, staring at her. First, confusion, then realization flickered over his features. Then he smiled, shaking his head a little and taking a few steps toward her. “Can’t say I saw this coming.” 

Chloe grinned brightly at that and shook her head, holding a hand out to him. “That’s what a surprise means,” she said quietly.

He grinned, too, taking her hand in his and letting his gaze sweep over her. “You look incredible,” he whispered. 

“Thank you,” she whispered, squeezing his hand. “Happy Valentine’s day?” She said quietly, stepping closer to him.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” he told her quietly, dipping his head to kiss her softly.

Chloe relaxed a little and kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck as she did, then pulling away to look at him. “I know it’s not the same, but at least we have a dance this way.”

“This is better anyway,” Oliver said with a soft smile.

“Yeah?” She whispered, hopefully. 

He nodded, dipping his head again and pressing his mouth close to her ear. “I don’t have to worry about anyone cutting in to try and steal you away from me.” 

Her face softened and she shrugged a little as she turned to look at him. “They could cut in, but they wouldn’t steal me anyway.”

He smiled at that, holding her gaze. “I think you said something about dancing?” He held his hand out to her once more.

“That’s the whole point of a dance, right?” She said, sliding her hand into his and grinning up at him.

“I believe you’re right,” he conceded, nodding as he rested his other hand at her waist, leading her into their first dance.

She placed her other hand on his arm and smiled up at him, holding his gaze. “I hated lying to you this morning.”

He smiled back at her, amusement in his eyes. “And you did it so _well_. I mean, I was completely convinced.” 

Chloe grinned softly and looked down then back at him. “You should be careful with me, then.”

Oliver arched an eyebrow. “Because you’re a good liar?” he teased.

“Because I can fool you if I want to,” she teased back, letting go of his hand and placing both hands over his shoulders as she stepped closer. When she heard voices, she looked toward the door and smiled when she saw a few of the other volunteers coming in to dance, too.

He smiled, too, looking over as even some of the people who came to eat were dancing. “Look what you did,” he said softly, rubbing his fingers lightly over her back. “Everyone’s going to have a good Valentine’s Day.” 

She smiled shyly at him and shook her head. “They all helped, they were really eager to help when I said it was a surprise for you,” she whispered, holding his gaze.

Oliver looked at her with faint surprise, then looked around at the others, a warm smile touching his mouth. “Oh,” he whispered.

Chloe brushed her fingers over the back of his hair and grinned. “You have some great friends, Oliver Queen.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I do,” he agreed, turning his attention to her once more.

Her face softened and she cupped his cheek in one hand, grinning softly and nodding. At least he could accept that much now.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Chloe,” he whispered, leaning in to kiss her on the mouth.

She stepped closer and kissed him back, smiling against his lips. Definitely the best one she’d ever had.

* * * 

Oliver glanced at her sideways as he drove them back toward Smallville. “You’re really amazing. You know that, right?” His voice was quiet as he focused on the road once more.

She reached for his hand and linked her fingers with his. “I guess I get it now,” she whispered.

“That you’re amazing?” 

Chloe laughed and shook her head at that. “The whole romance things,” she said. “It’s nice, doing it for someone else.”

“Oh.” He smiled at the sound of her laughter. “Yeah, it is.” He brought her hand to his mouth, kissing her knuckles.

She smiled at the gesture and nodded a little then took a deep breath. “I wish you didn’t have to go back to the Luthors,” she whispered as they passed the ‘Welcome to Smallville’ sign.

He sighed softly at that. “Me too,” he confessed. “Also, I have a present for you at the mansion. I’ll bring it to school tomorrow.” 

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” she said sincerely, frowning a little.

“It’s not a big deal,” he told her, glancing at her sideways. 

“I didn’t get you anything,” she admitted, looking down, trying to figure out if she could get him something last minute but truth was, she had spent all her money on the dress.

“Yeah, you really did.” Oliver’s voice dropped and he squeezed her hand.

“Nothing you can keep,” she clarified, squeezing his hand back.

“But I’ll have the memory forever,” he pointed out quietly.

“Well, me too,” she said quietly, leaning closer and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

He pulled his car up against the curb outside of her house, turning the lights off and putting the car into park before looking at her. He lifted a hand to her cheek, cupping it gently. “You realize that I’m falling in love with you, right?” His voice was barely audible.

Her chest tightened and her eyes widened at that. All she good do was stare at him for a moment, before she leaned in and kissed him deeply.

Oliver kissed her back, letting his eyes drift shut. He hadn’t been expecting her to say it back, after all. He just wanted to tell her. After a long moment, he pulled back to gaze at her. “Thank you,” he murmured.

She looked at him, confused and shook her head. “What for?”

“For everything. Tonight,” he told her with a small smile.

Her face softened and she nodded a little, then leaned closer and kissed him once more. “I don’t want you to leave,” she said quietly. Especially not now that he had told her that. And she felt it too, but it was scary. 

Tonight had been perfect, more so than if they had gone to the school dance, and in a way, she was afraid she was going to wake up and it wasn’t going to be real. Because that kind of thing never happened to her.

He tucked some hair behind her ear, stroking her cheek lightly. “I don’t want to leave, either,” he admitted. “But somehow I don’t think your dad would be very happy to see me.” 

Chloe chewed on the inside of her mouth and shook her head a little. “No, he probably wouldn’t see you...” It was really risky, but she usually didn’t see her dad when she got home late. He knew she was going to be at the kitchen so he was probably already in bed and he usually left before she was up but she knew that if he saw Oliver, he was going to be pretty upset.

He studied her for a moment, searching her eyes. “You think he’s already in bed?” 

She held her breath when she realized he was actually considering it. Holding his gaze for a moment longer, she pursed her lips together and glanced at the house, nodding as she turned back to him. “Only the front door light is on.”

“What if you went in to make sure, and then gave me some kind of signal? Then I’ll come up,” he suggested.

She smiled at that and nodded. “I’ll text you,” she whispered, leaning in and kissing him softly. “But you will need to park around the corner,” she told him, holding his gaze, the butterflies in her stomach growing stronger with every word.

He nodded. “All right. I’ll do that and wait for your text.” He brushed his nose against hers.

“I’ll see you soon, hopefully,” she said quietly, grinning softly before getting out of the car and taking a deep breath and heading to the house.

He watched her go, then shifted the car into drive once more, pulling it around the corner and out of sight from her house before shutting off the engine and looking down at his phone, waiting for her text.

It took her a moment to make sure her dad really was out. She closed his bedroom door and removed her shoes before texting Oliver with _All clear_.

Moments later he crept up on the porch, waiting at the door silently.

Chloe opened it and held a finger to her lip as she grinned and motioned for him to come inside.

He grinned back at her, following her inside the house as quietly as possible, then slipping off his shoes and picking them up in one hand. He arched his eyebrows, waiting for her to lead the way.

She led him upstairs and into her room, closing then silently locking the door once they were inside. “That was easy,” she whispered.

“Way easier than I thought it would be,” he admitted, setting his shoes down by her door.

“Do you think the Luthors will notice?” She asked, pursing her lips together.

He cocked his head, thinking for a moment. “I doubt it. Lionel’s out of town and Lex basically couldn’t care less what I do.” 

She relaxed a little and nodded slightly, smiling. “I just realized you had never been here before.”

“Yeah, wasn’t much opportunity.” 

“No, not that this really is one,” she grinned, arching her eyebrows.

“Oh, I know. This is _sleeping_ only. No funny business,” he warned her in a mocking tone.

Chloe held her breath at that and paused. “I think I should be the one telling you that?”

He arched an eyebrow at her. “I have to keep my virtue intact, too, you know.” 

“I don’t believe you,” she dared, mostly because she was curious.

“Don’t believe what, exactly? That I have virtue?” 

“That it’s intact,” she said quietly, watching him closely.

He paused at that, holding his breath. Then he looked down at the floor. “If you’re asking if I’m a virgin...the answer is no,” he confessed. “But I haven’t been with a girl in about three years.” 

“It doesn’t bother me,” she whispered sincerely, stepping closer to him and shrugging. “I really didn’t think you were.”

He hesitantly slid his arms around her. “But you are?” His voice was quiet.

Chloe chew on her bottom lip and nodded a little, watching him closely to see his reaction. She didn’t think he’d be surprised, either but she wanted to make sure it didn’t bother him.

Oliver nodded, too, searching her eyes and then pressing a kiss to her mouth.

She relaxed a little then kissed him back, hugging him as she shifted a little closer.

He hugged her, too, resting his chin atop her head. “You tired?” he asked quietly, just holding her close to him.

“Yeah,” she whispered. “I need to change.” She lifted her head and looked up at him. “You can make yourself comfortable,” she offered, not really sure what else to say since she’d never exactly had a guy sleep over before.

He kissed her forehead, pulling away to look at her. “Okay.” He smiled softly and moved over to the edge of the bed, sitting down on it and facing away from her to give her some privacy. 

“Ollie, it’s okay,” she called when she realized what he was doing. “I have a bathroom,” she told him, opening the door next to her closet. She was glad he was so respectful, though because there was no way she would change in front of him.

“Oh.” He turned around once more, arching his eyebrows. “I thought that might have been a closet door,” he admitted.

“This one is.” She pointed at it then smiled. “I won’t be long,” she told him before disappearing into the bathroom.

He watched her go, then rose to his feet, moving over to the dresser, looking at all the pictures that were atop it and smiling a little. 

It took her a while to undo her hair, get rid of her make up and change, but she did it as quickly as possible, not wanting to leave him alone for a long time. After checking herself in the mirror a few times and tugging her shorts down so they weren’t too short, she made her way out of the the bathroom. “All yours if you need it,” she offered.

He glanced over his shoulder, nodding even as he picked up one of the framed pictures. It was one of her and Clark and Pete. “This is a good picture.” 

She walked up to him and grinned a little, nodding. “I need one with you,” she told him.

“Would you even be able to have it out?” he asked softly.

Her face fell a little and she shrugged. “Dad doesn’t come in here a lot, so probably.”

He set the picture frame down once more and then kissed her forehead. “Okay, I’m gonna use your bathroom.” 

“Okay,” she told him quietly, taking a deep breath then making her way over to her bed. She was exhausted, getting everything ready for the dance and then the actual dance had been a lot of work, but it had been worth it. 

Oliver returned a few moments later, lingering in the doorframe between her bedroom and her bathroom and gazing at her. “So, how do you want me, Gorgeous?” he asked softly.

She paused at the question and arched her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

He chuckled softly and shook his head. “Bad timing for my sense of humor, I guess.” He moved over to the bed, sitting down on the edge of it. “Do you have a side preference?” 

“Oh.” She blushed and shook her head a little. “No, but it’s probably better if I stay closer to the door? My alarm is here and, in case dad knocks or something...”

He smiled, nodding in agreement and moving to the other side of the bed, closer to the window. “And if your dad knocks I can make a quick escape out the window,” he teased.

“I _think_ there’s enough room under the bed.” She smirked at him, shifting on the bed, closer to the door to make room for him. “Are your clothes comfortable?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” he assured her, stretching out beside her and turning to lay on his side so he was facing her.

She turned on her side to face him too and smiled. “Have you ever done this before?” She asked, sliding a hand under her pillow.

“Had a slumber party with a beautiful girl?” He shook his head.

“You just seem so... comfortable,” she said quietly. 

“I am comfortable when I’m with you,” he told her, reaching out and touching her cheek.

Her face softened and she nodded a little. “Me too.”

“I’m glad,” Oliver said honestly, smiling.

Chloe took a deep breath then leaned in, kissing him softly for a moment then pulling back. “Tired?”

“Yeah, kind of,” he admitted, resting his head down on the pillow even though he was still looking at her. “At least tomorrow’s Saturday.” 

“Yeah.” She relaxed a little. “Dad should be at his bowling stuff when we wake up, but we will need to be careful, just in case.”

He nodded in agreement, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “We will be.” 

Chloe closed her eyes for a moment then reached behind herself and turned the lamp off before reaching over and taking his hand. “Glad you stayed.”

“I’m glad you asked,” he murmured, closing his eyes as he squeezed her hand.

She remained quiet for a moment, her chest tight as she pursed her lips together. “What you told me earlier,” she whispered very quietly. “You’re not the only one.”

He pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “I know,” he whispered.

Chloe paused and grinned a little, relieved then shook her head. “You know?”

“Sometimes people don’t have to say it with words,” he said quietly.

“Yeah, I guess not.” She took a deep breath and squeezed his hand again, pushing away the thought of him leaving in just a few months quickly. It had been a perfect night, and she wasn’t going to worry about that now.


End file.
